Health & Wellness

Creating short videos using pictures and music has many benefits for patients with dementia and their families, UAlberta study finds.

22

August

2017

Myrna Caroline Jacques tells her story as part of Elly Park's digital storytelling study.

By LAURIE WANG

For Myrna Caroline Jacques, digital storytelling is her way of fighting Alzheimer’s.

“I thought maybe if I do this and use my brain, the disease won’t take over as soon.

“That’s my goal,” the 77-year-old grandma of five said.

She may be onto something.

A recent UAlberta study on digital storytelling and dementia showed digital storytelling was useful for triggering memories and helping people like Jacques share meaningful stories with loved ones.

“As the people I worked with shaped their own stories, they were able to recall new memories. Even after they watched the story with their loved ones, some of the images would uncover more memories from the past,” said Elly Park, principal investigator and as...